The US Department of Justice (DOJ) [official website] has asked the US District Court for the District of Arizona [official website] to reject the request [JURIST report] by Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio [official website] to dismiss the lawsuit pending against him that claims his office discriminated against Latinos and disregarded their constitutional rights. The DOJ had filed [JURIST report] a suit [complaint, PDF] in May against Maricopa County, Arizona [official websites], the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office and Arpaio alleging that they were engaging in racial profiling of Latinos, punishing inmates for speaking Spanish and conducting immigration patrols based solely on community complaints that there were individuals with dark skin roaming around the neighbor despite the fact that no crime was reported.

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